Pete the Cat and the Wright Brothers: I Can Read Level 1

PreS-Gr 2–With simple text and colorful ­illustrations, this book has everything readers have come to expect from Pete, plus ­lessons in both history and engineering. Here, ­Orville and Wilbur Wright are reimagined as “two cool cats” named Orv and Wil who help their fellow feline Pete achieve his dream of flying. His first flight in the brothers’ glider is cut short by insufficient wind, and his solution, an arsenal of electric fans, doesn’t generate enough lift to get the craft airborne again. Inspired by the spinning fan blades, Orv asks, “What if we make a machine that doesn’t need wind to fly?” and the cats work together to build a new aircraft with propellers and an engine. Readers may get the ­mistaken impression that the Wright brothers are credited with the invention of the propeller, but the final page includes a brief history of “The Real Wright Brothers,” which sets the record straight. Pair this title with ­Ashley Spires’s The Most Magnificent Thing or Gaia Cornwall’s Jabari Tries plus a hands-on activity for a ­STEM-focused program, and recommend it to readers who are interested in history and technology, as well as those who just love Pete.